If this is saving the Corcoran, I wonder what wrecking it would look like. The Save the Corcoran coalition has surprisingly thrown its support behind Wayne Reynolds' "vision for a future Corcoran." What's more, the group has urged his appointment as board chairman of the financially beleaguered Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Corcoran College of Art + Design. Reynolds is not … [Read more...] about Rescue Miscue: Outlandish Proposal to Save the Corcoran by Dumping Its Art UPDATED
Archives for March 2013
Hear Us Now: KCRW Podcast of Knight, Bernard and Me on MOCA’s Suitors
Below is the audio podcast from the just concluded program about MOCA's serious problems and potential solutions, on KCRW's "Which Way, L.A.?", hosted by Warren Olney. The MOCA segment, with LA Times art critic Christopher Knight, MOCA Mobilization co-founder Cindy Bernard and me, starts at about 10:30 into the broadcast. (My own participation begins at about 19:16.) I get … [Read more...] about Hear Us Now: KCRW Podcast of Knight, Bernard and Me on MOCA’s Suitors
Coming Soon on KCRW: My “Which Way, L.A.?” Commentary on MOCA/LACMA/USC/NGA
Want to know what I think about the astonishing news (reported this afternoon by the NY Times' Patricia Cohen) that Eli Broad has approached the National Gallery, Washington, about a possible LACMA-trumping agreement for a five-year collaboration? You can hear me debunk that proposal as "kicking the can down the road" on public radio station KCRW's Which Way, L.A.?, tonight … [Read more...] about Coming Soon on KCRW: My “Which Way, L.A.?” Commentary on MOCA/LACMA/USC/NGA
MOCA Poker: Will Eli Broad Attempt to Stop LACMA’s Proposed Takeover? Can LACMA Afford MOCA?
In his Saturday NY Times article about the possible Los Angeles museum merger, Adam Nagourney noted that "there is one person now in a position to block it: Eli Broad." That's because a condition of MOCA's acceptance of the Broad Bailout (scroll to last page), as Eli stated in 2008, was "to keep MOCA independent. Being merged into another institution would destroy the … [Read more...] about MOCA Poker: Will Eli Broad Attempt to Stop LACMA’s Proposed Takeover? Can LACMA Afford MOCA?
All’s Fair at the Fair: Eric Shiner, Warhol Museum’s Director, Defends Getting Cozy with Commerce
In today's NY Times review of the Armory Show, Karen Rosenberg described Warhol Museum director Eric Shiner's close participation in this commercial art extravaganza as "the boundary-blurring of a museum director playing curator at an art fair (and justifying this decision with the old Warholian saw about art and business)." I've already issued some cutting commentary about … [Read more...] about All’s Fair at the Fair: Eric Shiner, Warhol Museum’s Director, Defends Getting Cozy with Commerce
LACMOCA? Winners and Losers as LACMA-MOCA Museum Merger Sparks Are Reignited
I just got back home from cataract surgery (successful, I think), so I'm not permitted to rub my eyes quite yet. But eye-rubbing was nearly unavoidable when I read this Jori Finkel jaw-dropper on the website of the LA Times: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has made a formal proposal to acquire the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, which has been struggling … [Read more...] about LACMOCA? Winners and Losers as LACMA-MOCA Museum Merger Sparks Are Reignited
Wilson Wisdom: Sackler Curator on the “Astounding Success Rate” of Amateur Collector Paul Singer (with video)
In my last post, pegged to my Crafty Collector article in today's Wall Street Journal, I mentioned that I had interviewed the collector who is the subject of an exhibition now at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery (to July 7)---the late psychiatrist and Chinese art specialist Paul Singer. What I didn't tell you was how I got to know him. In September 1978, I published an … [Read more...] about Wilson Wisdom: Sackler Curator on the “Astounding Success Rate” of Amateur Collector Paul Singer (with video)
My WSJ Piece on Paul Singer’s Chinese Art Collection at the Sackler Gallery: A Companion Slide Show
The Wall Street Journal has just posted online The Crafty Collector---my article for tomorrow's "Leisure and Arts" page. It explores the current Washington, DC, exhibition (to July 7) of the late psychiatrist Paul Singer's collection of early Chinese art, which was given upon his death in 1997 to the Smithsonian Institution's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery but hasn't been shown … [Read more...] about My WSJ Piece on Paul Singer’s Chinese Art Collection at the Sackler Gallery: A Companion Slide Show
“Mourning Process”: Diane Wilsey Justifies San Francisco Museums’ Delayed Director’s Search
Artworld commentators have recently raised questions about the long 14-month vacancy in the director's post at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Perhaps they should have put those questions directly to Diane "Dede" Wilsey. As president of the museum's board, she is overseeing the search. Revealing that an active search for a new director (to replace John Buchanan, who … [Read more...] about “Mourning Process”: Diane Wilsey Justifies San Francisco Museums’ Delayed Director’s Search
“Breuer Project”: Metropolitan Museum Seeks Associate Curator of American Modern
Wanna help the Metropolitan Museum and Sheena Wagstaff, its chairman of modern and contemporary art, decide what to do with the Whitney Museum's current facility, which the Met will occupy (at least temporarily) once the Whitney decamps from its Breuer-designed facility for its new Piano-designed downtown digs? Now you can! ArtsJournal is currently running this classified … [Read more...] about “Breuer Project”: Metropolitan Museum Seeks Associate Curator of American Modern
Sotheby’s 2012 Results: How Erroneous Financial Reports Go Viral
Sotheby's 2012 results were nothing to crow about (and CEO Bill Ruprecht didn't, although he professed optimism for the future). But I rubbed my eyes in disbelief when I saw this over-the-top headline on the homepage of Huffington Post Arts: THE END IS NEAR???: Sotheby's Revenue Declines [UPDATE: It looks like "THE END IS NEAR???" has now been deleted from the HuffPost's … [Read more...] about Sotheby’s 2012 Results: How Erroneous Financial Reports Go Viral